# 2012–13 Bundesliga

The 2012–13 Bundesliga was the 50th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 24 August 2012 with the season opening match at Westfalenstadion involving defending champions Borussia Dortmund and SV Werder Bremen and ended with the last games on 18 May 2013, with a winter break between the weekends around 15 December 2012 and 19 January 2013. Bayern Munich managed to secure the championship of the 2012–13 season after only 28 match days, beating their previous record by two matches.
The league comprises eighteen teams: The best fifteen teams of the 2011–12 season, the best two teams from the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga and the winners of the relegation play-off between the 16th-placed Bundesliga team and the third-placed 2. Bundesliga team.

## Teams

1. FC Köln and 1. FC Kaiserslautern were relegated to the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga after finishing in one of the bottom two spots at the end of the 2011–12 season. Köln were relegated to the second level after four Bundesliga seasons, while Kaiserslautern ended a two-year tenure in the top flight.
The two relegated teams were replaced by SpVgg Greuther Fürth and Eintracht Frankfurt. Greuther Fürth made their Bundesliga debut while also returning to the top level after 49 seasons, as predecessors SpVgg Fürth missed out on qualification for the Bundesliga at the end of the 1962–63 season. In turn, Eintracht Frankfurt made an immediate comeback to the league after being relegated at the end of the 2010–11 season.
A further place in the league was determined by a two-legged play-off between Hertha BSC, the 16th-placed team of the 2011–12 season, and Fortuna Düsseldorf, the third-placed team of the 2011–12 2. Bundesliga. Düsseldorf won the play-off by 4–3 on aggregate; the club returned to the top level after 15 years in lower levels of the league pyramid. Hertha made only a cameo appearance in the league and immediately dropped back to the 2. Bundesliga.

### Stadiums and locations

Promotees SpVgg Greuther Fürth expanded the capacity of their Trolli Arena to 18,000 spectators in order to guarantee all matches of the campaign being played at their own ground. Bayern Munich also expanded the capacity of their Allianz Arena by 2,000 people; the new total capacity for the ground is 71,000 spectators.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Augsburg | Augsburg | SGL arena | 30,660 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Leverkusen | BayArena | 30,210 |
| Bayern Munich | Munich | Allianz Arena | 71,000 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 80,645 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Mönchengladbach | Borussia-Park | 54,010 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Commerzbank-Arena | 51,500 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf | Esprit Arena | 54,600 |
| SC Freiburg | Freiburg | Dreisamstadion | 24,000 |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Fürth | Trolli Arena | 18,000 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | Imtech Arena | 57,000 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | AWD-Arena | 49,000 |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Sinsheim | Rhein-Neckar Arena | 30,150 |
| Mainz 05 | Mainz | Coface Arena | 34,000 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Nuremberg | Frankenstadion | 50,000 |
| FC Schalke 04 | Gelsenkirchen | Veltins-Arena | 61,673 |
| VfB Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Mercedes-Benz Arena | 60,300 |
| SV Werder Bremen | Bremen | Weserstadion | 42,100 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Wolfsburg | Volkswagen Arena | 30,000 |

### Personnel and kits

Borussia Dortmund changed their kit suppliers from Kappa to Puma, signing a contract through the 2019–20 season with the German sports brand. Furthermore, a couple of shirt sponsoring contracts were not renewed. VfB Stuttgart replaced the Gazi brand of dairy product company garmo with the banking section of automobile company Mercedes-Benz as their new shirt sponsors, and Fortuna Düsseldorf changed from home retail chain Bauhaus to discount phone company o.tel.o.
Three further clubs finalized new sponsoring contracts shortly before the first matches were played. Fraport chose not to renew their contract with Eintracht Frankfurt; the Hessian club announced a deal with brewery Krombacher at the end of July. Elsewhere, the agreements between 1. FC Nürnberg and Areva and between Werder Bremen and Targobank expired. Werder announced their new main sponsor to be poultry giant Wiesenhof in early August 2012, despite prolonged protests due to the company's suspected animal abuse. Finally, Nürnberg agreed to a multi-year contract with clothing retailers NKD just days before the start of the season.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| FC Augsburg | Markus Weinzierl | Paul Verhaegh | Jako | AL-KO |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Sami Hyypiä Sascha Lewandowski | Simon Rolfes | adidas | SunPower |
| Bayern Munich | Jupp Heynckes | Philipp Lahm | Adidas | T-Mobile |
| Borussia Dortmund | Jürgen Klopp | Sebastian Kehl | Puma | Evonik |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Lucien Favre | Filip Daems | Lotto | Postbank |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Armin Veh | Pirmin Schwegler | Jako | Krombacher |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | Norbert Meier | Andreas Lambertz | Puma | o.tel.o |
| SC Freiburg | Christian Streich | Julian Schuster | Nike | Ehrmann |
| SpVgg Greuther Fürth | Frank Kramer | Mërgim Mavraj | Jako | Ergo Direkt |
| Hamburger SV | Thorsten Fink | Rafael van der Vaart | adidas | Fly Emirates |
| Hannover 96 | Mirko Slomka | Steve Cherundolo | Jako | TUI |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Markus Gisdol | Andreas Beck | Puma | Suntech |
| 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Thomas Tuchel | Nikolče Noveski | Nike | Entega |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Michael Wiesinger | Raphael Schäfer | adidas | NKD |
| FC Schalke 04 | Jens Keller (caretaker) | Benedikt Höwedes | adidas | Gazprom |
| VfB Stuttgart | Bruno Labbadia | Serdar Tasci | Puma | Mercedes-Benz Bank |
| SV Werder Bremen | Wolfgang Rolff (caretaker) | Clemens Fritz | Nike | Wiesenhof |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Dieter Hecking | Diego Benaglio | adidas | Volkswagen/Golf/Golf GTI (in cup matches) |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| FC Augsburg | Jos Luhukay | Resigned | 5 May 2012 | Pre-season | Markus Weinzierl | 17 May 2012 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Felix Magath | Mutual consent | 25 October 2012 | 18th | Dieter Hecking | 22 December 2012 |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Markus Babbel | Sacked | 3 December 2012 | 16th | Marco Kurz | 1 January 2013 |
| Schalke 04 | Huub Stevens | Sacked | 16 December 2012 | 7th | Jens Keller | 16 December 2012 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Dieter Hecking | Signed by VfL Wolfsburg | 22 December 2012 | 14th | Michael Wiesinger | 24 December 2012 |
| Greuther Fürth | Mike Büskens | Sacked | 20 February 2013 | 18th | Frank Kramer | 11 March 2013 |
| TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Marco Kurz | Sacked | 2 April 2013 | 17th | Markus Gisdol | 2 April 2013 |
| Werder Bremen | Thomas Schaaf | Mutual consent | 15 May 2013 | 14th | Wolfgang Rolff | 15 May 2013 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bayern Munich (C) | 34 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 18 | +80 | 91 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 81 | 42 | +39 | 66 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 65 | 39 | +26 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | SC Freiburg | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 7 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 48 | |
| 8 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 47 | |
| 9 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 60 | 62 | −2 | 45 | |
| 10 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 44 | |
| 11 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 43 | |
| 12 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 37 | 55 | −18 | 43 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 13 | Mainz 05 | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 42 | |
| 14 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 50 | 66 | −16 | 34 | |
| 15 | FC Augsburg | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 33 | |
| 16 | 1899 Hoffenheim (O) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 42 | 67 | −25 | 31 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 17 | Fortuna Düsseldorf (R) | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 30 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | Greuther Fürth (R) | 34 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 26 | 60 | −34 | 21 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
* ↑ VfB Stuttgart qualified for the Europa League by playing Champions League-qualified Bayern Munich in the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal final. Since they lost, they entered the third qualifying round, and the fifth- and sixth-placed team of the 2012–13 Bundesliga entered the group stage and play-off round respectively.

## Results

| Home \ Away | FCA | SVW | BVB | F95 | SGE | SCF | SGF | HSV | H96 | TSG | B04 | M05 | BMG | FCB | FCN | S04 | VFB | WOB |
| FC Augsburg | — | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Werder Bremen | 0–1 | — | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 4–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 4–2 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| SC Freiburg | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–5 |
| Greuther Fürth | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–6 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Hamburger SV | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Hannover 96 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–6 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 3–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Mainz 05 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–4 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | — | 3–4 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Bayern Munich | 3–0 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 9–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | 6–1 | 3–0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Schalke 04 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 5–4 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

1899 Hoffenheim as the 16th-placed team faced the 3rd-placed 2012–13 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern in a two-legged play-off.
1899 Hoffenheim won 5–2 on aggregate and retained its Bundesliga spot for the 2013–14 season.

## Season statistics
### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Ádám Szalai | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 3–0 | 27 October 2012 |
| Marko Arnautović | Werder Bremen | 1899 Hoffenheim | 4–1 | 2 December 2012 |
| Vedad Ibišević | VfB Stuttgart | Schalke 04 | 3–1 | 8 December 2012 |
| Marco Reus | Borussia Dortmund | Eintracht Frankfurt | 3–0 | 16 February 2013 |
| Claudio Pizarro$^4$ | Bayern Munich | Hamburger SV | 9–2 | 30 March 2013 |
| Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | Schalke 04 | Hamburger SV | 4–1 | 28 April 2013 |
| Branimir Hrgota | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | 4–2 | 11 May 2013 |
* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals